This invention relates to seating assemblies and more particularly to head restraint assemblies and a method for the manufacture of a head restraint assembly.
Head restraint assemblies, or headrests of various designs and construction are used in vehicles, and particularly in automobiles and trucks for head support. Such headrests typically consist of a metal or plastic body surrounded by suitable padding and a cover supported on a post extending from the motor vehicle seat back. The body provides a framework to support the padding and cover of the headrest assembly. Such headrest may be adjustable with respect to the seat back.
One method of manufacturing of head restraint assemblies is to use what is referred to as a foam-in-place method. The hot material is injected into a covering assembly which includes the lamination of a dense foam of about 3 mm to the inner surface of the covering material by an adhesive layer. As a result of the various material types involved in a foam-in-place headrest, a “soft touch” feel is not achieved. In addition, as the foam-in-place material cools, it tends to shrink which produces a mapping effect which is deemed unacceptable for aesthetic purposes. Further, a foam-in-place process tends to penetrate the back of the covering material particularly if the cover material is leather which creates a hard, crusty feel to the leather, also which is not acceptable for aesthetic reasons. One technique that is used to avoid some of these problems, when the covering material of the head restraint assembly is leather, is to utilize only the best portion of the hide which has the tightest, densest fiber structure, typically the center portion, however, using such material is costly and inefficient.
Previous headrests typically require various fasteners, such as bolts and nuts for attaching the headrest body or pillow to the support rod and require bushings to allow the pivoting of the headrest body or pillow with respect to the support rod. Also, the aesthetic properties of the headrest have to be of a quality that is commensurate with other features of the vehicle such as the seats and interior assemblies. Particularly in high-end motor vehicles, generally referred to as luxury vehicles, any level of wrinkling or grandfathering of the material covering the headrest pillows is not tolerated.
Thus there is a need for a head restraint assembly that uses a closure of the covering assembly that is neat and will not fail in use. There is a further need for a head restraint assembly that can be assembled in a minimal amount of time to keep costs of assembly at a minimum. There is also a need for a method of manufacturing a head restraint assembly that eliminates wrinkling or grandfathering of the covers.